he Fremont House, Kendrick��s hotel was near the Michigan Street Depot.In those days when Chicago had barely 300,000 inhabitants, it wasan hotel of the second class. Mr. Kendrick had told me that Ms uncle,a Mr. Cotton really owned the House, but left him the chief share inthe management, adding ��What uncle says, goes always.�� Inthe course of time, I understood the nephew��s loyalty; for Mr. Cottonwas really kindly and an able man of business. My duties asnight-clerk were simple; from eight at night till six in the morning, I wasmaster in the office and had to apportion bedrooms to the incomingguests and give bills and collect the monies due from the outgoing public.I set myself at once to learn the good and bad points of the hundredodd bedrooms in the house and the arrival and departure times of all thenight tr...